Forty years ago, Congress enacted the Clean Water Act to end pollution of our rivers, lakes and bays. Since then, New York has taken the lead on water protection by maintaining some of the best water quality laws in the nation.

However, Gov. Cuomo has recently proposed lowering the clean water standards for factory farms in New York. He is putting our water in jeopardy with this plan, instead of helping farms to meet the state’s strong water protection standards.

New guidelines are being crafted by the Environmental Protection Agency that would ensure better protection of our waterways from factory farms across the country.

As the rest of the nation is moving forward with water protection, now is not the time for New York to be stepping backwards. Guidelines and standards that keep our rivers and lakes protected should be upheld and enforced, rather than allowing our standards to be lowered and putting the places where we love to swim and fish in danger.